Derek J. Leathers is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, serving as Chairman since May 2021 and CEO since May 2016. He was Vice Chairman in 2020-21 and President from 2011 to January 2024. Our Board appointed Leathers in May 2020 to fill a directorship vacancy, and stockholders initially elected him to the Board in May 2021. Throughout his tenure at the Company, he has held integral roles in many facets of the organization, including the establishment of our Mexico operations and oversight for all the asset operating groups.
Leathers has worked in the transportation and logistics industry for over 30 years. Prior to joining the Company in 1999, he was employed by Schneider National for eight years, during which time he was based out of Mexico City for several years and was one of the first foreign members of Mexico’s trucking association (CANACAR).
Leathers holds an economic degree from Princeton University. He serves on the board of SkyWest Incorporated, a public airline company; as the board chair of the American Transportation Research Institute; as the board vice-chair of the American Trucking Associations; on the executive committees of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of the Midlands; and on the board of trustees for Creighton University. He is a founder and board member of the PlaySmart Leadership Academy, an Omaha non-profit for youth.